


(Un)fortunate Encounter

by Miyu Hinamori (DaphneTheAdipose)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Gen, Poor Adrien, Poor Chat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 20:44:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13419282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaphneTheAdipose/pseuds/Miyu%20Hinamori
Summary: It's nothing like Chat Noir to just call her and hang up after barely saying three words.No greeting, no flirting, no nothing.Just three words: "Please. Come quick."





	1. An Unfortunate Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> Re-published from my fanfiction account.
> 
> My first Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction. Purely written because I wanted them to be together without worrying about the timers. They really don't need Lucky Charm or Cataclysm to defeat an akuma since all they have to do is break the container.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Miraculous Ladybug. All praise the almighty Astruc.

Ladybug jumped over the roofs of Paris as fast as she could. She had just come home from a false alarm about an akuma and thought she could have a quiet afternoon when Chat Noir called her.

A quick short message.

“Please. Come quick.”

As soon as he said that, the connection died. No greeting, no flirting, no nothing. Nothing like the Chat Noir she knew. For a second she thought it was another Copycat, but something about Chat Noir’s image that she caught before he hung up made her change her mind about that conclusion. 

He looked absolutely drained.

And that was such a difference from the usual Chat Noir that she knew that something was very wrong.

So she made off for his location, after looking it up on her compact and while she ran she reviewed the message in her head.

‘Come quick.’ He said.

Simple enough, right? But he said please. Before he asked her to come, he said please. 

Yes, Chat Noir was polite enough, gentleman cat that he was. But the two of them usually didn’t bother with such pleasantries. Granted they usually didn’t have the time as they were in the middle of battle most of the time, but still.

What would possess him to plead with her to come? That worried her greatly. She found him on the Notre Dame, behind the great towers. She almost missed him because he was curled up into a little ball in the shadow of a smaller tower. A small black kitty ball.

Silently she landed a few feet away from him.

“Chat, what is it, what happened?”

A shudder went through him, visible to her. Something was very wrong.

“Chat?”

She could see him taking a breath and hear him releasing it before he unfurled a hand from his ball.

She gasped.

Chat’s whole costume was black leather, always had been. 

His glove, clenched into a fist, was now white.

“Please. Get rid of it.” Chat’s quiet voice almost didn’t reach her.

He slowly unfurled his fist and from it flew a black butterfly.

An Akuma.

“You nasty bug!” The words left her mouth in a venomous snarl. Foregoing any other words she quickly captured and released it. Not giving the now white butterfly another glance she ran to Chat’s side.

“Chat?! Are you alright?” she asked him as she sat herself next to him, hand on his back. She felt him draw a shuddering breath when his glove regained its normal black colour. Then another and another.

For several minutes they just sat there: Ladybug patting his back and Chat Noir breathing, trying to control his breathing to something normal.

Finally he spoke.

“That, that wasn’t fun.”

“I certainly don’t think it was.”

There was an undercurrent of anger in her voice, so vicious it made Chat shrink into a slightly smaller ball. She immediately started rubbing soothing circles on his back, trying to convince him through touch that she wasn’t angry with him. Her anger was directed at the akuma.

Thankfully he seemed to understand going by how she could feel him relax again.

“What happened?” she asked, gentler this time.

After a minute he lifted his head. His mask was glossier beneath his eyes and she was sure that if he took it off, she would see that his eyes were red rimmed.

“Akuma.” He said simply, throwing in a shrug.

“I gathered as much.” She answered, implying that she wanted to hear more with her tone.

After another minute Chat didn’t disappoint.

“I guess I was feeling sad and frustrated. I… I had a bad day.”

He hesitated before deciding to plunge ahead.

“My dad cancelled an appointment he had with me today. It was pretty important to me. We had a fight. The akuma came when I was alone in my room.”

She could feel the confession took a lot out of him but she wasn’t surprised. That was the most he had shared about his personal life with her.

“How did, you, what?” she stumbled over her words, trying to articulate her thoughts. Which was frustrating enough when it happened when she was just Marinette. She didn’t need this when she was Ladybug! Thankfully Chat Noir seemed to understand her and ignored her little stumble. Hopefully he didn’t even notice it, she thought, but while it was good for her, it spoke a lot about his state of mind.

“Plagg stopped it. He just snatched the thing out of the air. I didn’t even notice it until he started yelling at me to get a grip.” His nervous laugh broke off before it could take off properly.

Plagg, his kwami, perhaps? She let the thought fall from her mind immediately. In normal circumstances he wouldn’t have revealed his kwami’s name, so she wouldn’t even let herself remember it.

“I transformed then and got away from home. When I got here, my glove was white. Don’t know why. It tried to possess me, but it didn’t work? I called you. You came.”

“Of course I came. I was worried.”

He turned his head to her and a hint of a smile came on his face.

“Thanks.”

He uncoiled from his little ball pose a bit, releasing a leg to hang over the railing. But he was still far too silent and still to her liking.

“How are you feeling?” she asked him after another minute of silence.

“Sad, I guess. Whatever catharsis the other… victims receive after being healed, I didn’t get. Scared, a bit?” His voice was positively tiny. “That, that was really scary, Ladybug. If I was alone, if I wasn’t Chat Noir, I would’ve…” He shuddered again.

Yeah.” She could imagine why it scared him. He would’ve been a pawn of Hawk Moth’s. But…

“But I would’ve stopped you and healed you.”

“Yeah.” The word was a sigh.

“You look like you could use a hug.”

"Can I get one?” he asked, the words wistful with just a hint of his usual flirting tone. It didn’t annoy her today as much as it did on any other day.

“Come here, you silly cat.”

He curled into her arms and nearly crushed her in his. That was fine for her, she could take it; the hug was for him, he had had the lousiest day.

She didn’t let him go until the shudders left him.


	2. A Fortunate Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something bad leads to something good.

Adrien didn’t slam the door. Not only was doorslamming not appreciated by his father (not that that stopped him when he was feeling a bit rebellious), but he just didn’t feel like it. He did slam himself into the door. His hands pushed against his eyes and he just slid down to the floor.

His father was frustrating at the best of times and at the worst of times he exceeded that frustration. It wasn’t that he was particularly looking forward to today, but it was important to him and it used to be important to his father. And for him to dismiss it that easily, without any concern, surprise that Adrien didn’t feel the same way…

Something in Adrien felt like it broke, like a hole was formed.

Hollow, he felt hollow and why did this all happen? Why were they like this?

“Hey, Adrien, chin up! Don’t let him get you down.”

He ignored Plagg. The hollow feeling in him was the only thing that existed now.

“Hey, what! No… Adrien! No no no. Get away from him!”

It was always like this and he was sick of it.

“Nonononono, get here you! Adrien!”

He didn’t want to hear anything, feel anything.

“Adrien!”

He was alone, always alone.

“SNAP OUT OF IT AND GET A GRIP!”

He whipped his head up, out of his daze.

“Wha? Plagg?” And his face drained of any color when he saw what had made his kwami raise his voice.

Struggling in his little paws was an akuma.

“Finally, you scared me. Quick, you have to transform and get to Ladybug. She will be able to handle him. Come on, he’s wriggley and while he can’t possess me, I really don’t like his energy.”

“T-that’s an akuma. It came for me.”

“Yes and now you have to get rid of it. Now, quick!”

He continued staring at the akuma, but raised his hand.

“Transform: Chat Noir.”

Plagg released the akuma before flying into his ring. Adrien went through the movements mechanically not feeling the exhilaration he usually did when he transformed. When the transformation was complete, he swiped the akuma from the air with his left hand.

That… felt weird.

“ _C’mon, hurry up. I don’t like it either._ ”

Suddenly he felt an intense spike of hate. He hated his room, he hated his house, he hated his…

‘I have to get out of here.’ He thought shaking his head and jumped through his window. Away, far away, where nothing could remind him of his misery. But everywhere he went he was reminded of the view out of his window. Reminded him of that empty, cold house.

So he ran and ran and ran.

When he finally stopped, he was on the Notre Dame. His breathing was ragged and he sat down to calm it down. He was only mildy surprised when he realized he was crying.

“ _Adrien,_ ” the kwami’s voice was unusually soothing. “ _You should really call Ladybug._ ”

“No.” Ladybug shouldn’t see him like this. Her partner was Chat Noir: confident, strong, funny (no matter what she said about his puns) and charming. His grief now was all Adrien, these things wouldn’t bother Chat Noir. Shouldn’t bother him. Especially to the extent of attracting an akuma.

“ _Adrien, look at your hand._ ” Plagg insisted.

“What’s with my hand?” But even as he said that, a fluttering in his left hand made him look.

White greeted him where there was once black.

Why?

How?

“ _Call Ladybug._ ” Plagg insisted again.

“Yeah.” He breathed in response.

Was this really happening, he thought as he took his baton and pushed the button to call Ladybug. What will she say, what should he say?

Hey Ladybug, having trouble with an infestation here. Could use a hand.

Yo Lady, wanna have a date? You can immediately purify the akuma I have found.

Hey Lady, guess what’s in my hand? It’s an akuma!

Those thoughts fled his mind when he saw his Lady appear on the screen.

“Please. Come quick.”

She didn’t even have to chance to say anything, as he cut the connection off.

“ _Good, now we just have to wait for her to come._ ”

“But what if she won’t come? I didn’t even tell her anything. Oh mon dieu, what if she does come and sees my hand?!”

“ _It's okay, she will come and she will purify the akuma. That’s it_.”

“She will never trust me again. I couldn’t control myself. What use am I if I can’t even keep myself from attracting the damn butterflies?”

A dark mist settled in his head, heavy and thick.

“If I can’t stop them, what use am I to her? No use at all! No use to anyone. Even my dad thinks so! I’m useless, that’s why he won’t even see me. Why should he care? Why should anyone? Maybe I should just give-”

“ _SIT DOWN!_ ”

The command was so sudden that it broke his train of thought.

“Wha-”

“ _The akuma is influencing you! Sit down right this instant!_ ”

When he realised what the kwami was saying, he collapsed.

“I-”

“ _Breathe, Adrien. Ladybug should be here soon. Just think about her._ ”

Ladybug, right, he could do that.

Think about how she pulled those children to safety last week. How she always kept a cool head.

Think about how even though she’s shorter than you, she’s larger than life. Magnificent and courageous Ladybug.

Don’t think about how disappointed she will be.

She won’t be disappointed.

He will lose her trust.

He was supposed to be her partner.

She will help him like she has done so many other times.

His wonderful Lady.

“Chat, what is it, what happened?”

Ladybug!

* * *

 

He hadn’t noticed how late it was getting. Frankly speaking he hadn’t noticed anything for the past hour except for his Lady’s arms around him. She must’ve gotten incredibly stiff, sitting in that position for so long.

Feeling embarassed by his actions, he helped her to her feet.

“I’m sorry, Ladybug. I shouldn’t have-” She pressed a finger to his lips, shutting him up.

“There is nothing to apologise for. There was nothing you could’ve done to prevent this.”

“But if I hadn’t let myself get into a funk like that, nothing would’ve happened.”

“You can’t just unfeel something, Chat. Even if you try, that’s very unhealthy.”

“But-”

“Chat, this is not your fault.” Her tone tolerated no contradiction. “Many good people have been turned into akuma. None of whom we’ve faulted for their actions. You are no different and you didn’t even change into one.”

He leaned against a tower, letting those words sink into his mind.

“What if it happens again? Next time I won’t be so lucky.”

She thought about that for a while.

“Do you feel better?”

The question caught him a bit off guard, but he evaluated his state of mind.

“Yes, I do. Better than before.”

“Then, let’s do this again.”

That he didn’t expect.

“What?”

“Let’s meet up when either of us is feeling down. I can’t say I feel confident now that I won’t be infected. Being a superhero gave me a sense of invulnerability, but clearly that doesn’t completely apply. So we meet up and cheer each other up, until the danger passes.”

“Just like that?”

“Yes.”

The idea appealed to him a lot. He did feel better as if that hole in his chest was filled. And clearly Ladybug had need of this too.

“Okay.”

“Good.”

Her gaze turned to look at the sunset and he saw concern form on her face, before she aimed that concern at him.

“I left suddenly, my parents may be concerned as to where I am. Will you be alright now?”

“Yes. Go, I’ll be okay.”

She stared at him for a while, before nodding and heading to the edge of the roof.

“Ladybug!”

She turned back to him and he smiled at her.

“Thank you.” he said, gently taking her hand and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “I am so fortunate to have you by my side.”

She smiled at him and his mood brightened just by looking at her.

“As am I.”

She squeezed his hand and let go to swing herself off the church.

When she disappeared out of his sight, he turned to the other direction.

“When we get home, you’re getting a big block of cheese.” he told Plagg.

“ _Camembert?_ ” the kwami’s voice eagerly replied.

He laughed.

“Whatever you say.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For extra feels: Adrien and his dad were supposed to visit his mom's grave. I know we don't know what happened (at least I haven't watched season 2 yet maybe we do now), so I'm going with what I think happened.

**Author's Note:**

> Extra disclaimer: Inspiration taken from Chat Blanc, the concept of which I don't own.


End file.
